Crossword Genius

Bird left following painful cry (3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

owl

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'bird' is the definition.
(I know that owl is a type of Bird of prey)

'left following painful cry' is the wordplay.
'left' becomes 'l' (common abbreviation).
'following' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'painful cry' becomes 'ow' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'l' after 'ow' is 'OWL'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for owl that I've seen before include "You'll need hooter" , "eg Snowy, Tawny" , "One swoops" , "Winged hooter" , "Hooting bird" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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